For those who are unfamiliar with MIBF, it stands for Manila International Book Fair and is an annual event that many Filipino readers and writers eagerly anticipate. As a reader and writer, I have always been excited to participate in this event, especially if I have the budget (haha).

And this year has been, so far, my best experience of MIBF. And good news for those who know me: I stepped out of my comfort zone, or at least I tried, even if only for an hour, and I want to praise God for that!



With the help of PaperKat Books and Ms. Kath, I was able to book an hour of meet-the-writer and a book signing event during the MIBF 2025.

Initially, I only planned to consign my latest book, The Restless Mind, and hope for the best of its sales. I am scared to be on the frontline of the meet-the-writer and a book-signing event. But then, there was this desire to try the book signing activity. I took the risk. I thought I had nothing to lose, and it was not like I was going to do something bad or illegal.

"I am just gonna put myself out there, and be a little vulnerable in the eyes of spectators." I thought to myself.

So, yes, I did! I had the book signing and meet-the-writer activity with PaperKat Books. I am really grateful for the opportunity and the experience, and I am so glad I got to experience MIBF 2025 as a writer and a reader.



Special shout-out to the readers who took a chance on my book, The Restless Mind, during my book signing: Ram, Grace, Zu, LJ, and Thine!💙 If you bought my book at MIBF 2025, and I was not able to sign it for you, I hope I get to see you at other events. SLMT 💙

I am looking forward to experiencing more of this event.

I am joyful that I did this. It was beyond my comfort zone, but God did it again! He helped me get through 🙏🙌

The Restless Mind, my latest book, is participating this year. The book event will run from September 10-14, 2025, from Wednesday to Sunday. 

Ms. Kath Eustaquio-Derla and PaperKat Books helped me to make this opportunity possible. 

I also have a Meet the author schedule at Booth #2-122, 2nd Floor Function Hall, SMX Convention Center Manila. So if you want to meet me or get your copies signed, please feel free to drop by. Other freebies are waiting for you. I hope I get to see you guys and gals! 

This step is the part of self-publishing where you decide to have a print copy of your book. I have come upon this company that helps in printing self-published books. I am glad to find IngramSpark. 

You just have to prepare two (2) documents: a formatted manuscript and a full book cover.

1. Formatted Manuscript

For most of the books I self-published, the size I use is 8 by 5. I use Microsoft Word for the interior of the book or the manuscript itself.  

2. Full Book Cover

The application I work with to make my book covers is Canva. The front, back cover, and spine are all created with Canva. Just make sure you use the template book covers for you have the right dimension. Since I use an 8 by 5 size for the interior, it is only right to have your book's front and back cover in the same size. On the other hand, the width of the spine depends on the number of pages of the book, and the height remains the same as the front and back covers.

To calculate the width of your book spine, you may use this tool from IngramSpark: Spine and Weight Calculator

Here’s a sample of the book I published on demand with IngramSpark. Behold! 😂

I hope this helps.

As a self-published author, one of my dreams is to see my books in the shelves of many physical bookstores which seems like a pie in the sky for me before the boom of internet age. Right now, I can see light and hope for that dream. There are a lot of ways to make it possible and I am hoping and praying it will work. 

But first, I needed that ISBN. So I did get it for my new book and good news just recently, I got approved of ISBNs for the book I have written entitled The Restless Mind. I got the ISBNs for ebook and print version and I did online. 

1. First thing first, register as an author/writer with NBDB and here is how I did it: 

 and you can do it too, just click the link.

2. Create an account on this website: https://web.nlp.gov.ph/isbn/

3. Prepare a document that contains the full book cover of the book/s and copyright page. Remember, make sure you follow the prescribed format of the NLP or else they will reject it, but you can still revise your application.

4. Submit a request by clicking ISBN Application tab and filling out all the necessary information about your book and uploading the document.

You will receive an email verifying your application and it may take up to two business days to evaluate your application. 

I hope for your success in your ISBN application.